Kenya regulator raises fuel prices across the board

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's energy regulator raised the prices of diesel, petrol and kerosene on Saturday, a move driven by higher international crude oil costs and likely to ramp up inflation in east Africa's biggest economy.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) increased the price of super petrol in the capital Nairobi by 6.81 shillings per litre to 118.50 shillings, and that of diesel by 3.67 shillings to 108.80 shillings.

Kerosene prices in Nairobi went up by 2.14 shillings a litre to 86.28 shillings. The new prices come into effect on April 15 and stay in force for a month.

"In the last two months, there has been a steep upward trend in the price of crude and refined petroleum products in the international markets. This has a negative impact in current and subsequent price reviews," ERC Director General Kaburu Mwirichia said in a statement.

Kenya's economy is highly dependent on diesel for transport, power production and agriculture while kerosene is used in many homes.

The country's central bank moved aggressively late last year to cool prices by ramping up interest rates, and the year-on-year inflation rate fell for the fourth consecutive month in March to 15.61 percent from 16.69 percent a month before.